Ohio Precious Metals (OPM)

Sovereign government mints around the globe serve a dual role of producing national currency for everyday use, as well as bullion and proof coins designed to attract the attention of investors and collectors who prefer precious metals to the modern stock market. If there’s one thing that sets sovereign and private mints apart, it is the variety and pricing of precious metal products. Private mints often produce precious metals with the greatest level of variety, and lower premiums over the spot price of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

There are private mints located around the globe. Some, such as many of those in the United States, focus intently on both rounds and bars, while many foreign private mints predominantly manufacture bars. In the following sections you’ll learn more about the gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products offered on Silver.com from private mints around the world.

Among the many private mints that have been or are currently in operation in the United States, Ohio Precious Metals has long been one of the most trusted brands. Ohio Precious Metals was founded in 1974 and quickly established itself with a reputation for pursuing environmentally friendly precious metal refining techniques.

History of Ohio Precious Metals

Ohio Precious Metals, or OPM, was formed in 1974 in the garage of some crafty precious metal enthusiasts. Originally, the company secured precious metals by simply reclaiming metals stripped for telephone equipment and melted it down for resale as bullion bars. The company has gone by many names over the years, ranging from Ohio Precious Metals LLC to OPM or OPM Metals.

Ownership over the company changed hands multiples times throughout its first three decades of existence, but one of its first significant moments came in 2003 when the company changed ownership and underwent an expansion that made it the largest good delivery refinery in the US that could also boast of being “All-American” in its production. OPM is one of the few private refineries to exist solely within the United States for the entirety of its operations.

The company produces gold and silver bullion products that are from recycled sources, such as photographic sources and the telephone industry. Additionally, recycled jewelry was a source of gold and silver for the company in its early days, and it won awards for its environmentally friendly approach to precious metals production.

OPM Gold and Silver Bars

From the origins of its production regimen, OPM offered gold and silver bars in varying weights and styles. OPM silver bars are available in 1 ounce, 10 ounce, 1 kilogram, and 100 ounce weights. The OPM refinery is capable of refining scrap metals to 99.9 percent pure silver. Impure metals are meticulously upgraded through various processes to achieve a high-quality finished product. The silver bars minted by OPM Metals have .999 fine silver content.

All OPM Metals silver bars feature the company’s simple signature design. The OPM logo and “OPM Metals” name are stamped on the front of the bar. Additional information is included beneath the company name, including the bar’s weight in troy ounces and the silver quality. The “U.S.A.” feature makes it clear that this silver bar was minted in America. The back of OPM Metals silver bars features the OPM logo in a repeating pattern. This simple image gives the silver bar a stunning texture that’s popular among collectors. Supreme craftsmanship is evident in every bar.

While the 1 ounce and 10 ounce bars feature a brilliant shine, the larger 1 kilogram and 100 ounce weights have more of a matte finish. Both options offer an elegant and sophisticated appearance. These beautifully designed silver bars make wonderful gifts for anyone who wants to introduce the recipient to the world of precious metal investing.

Generally speaking, Ohio Precious Metals bars ranged in finish and style from minted ingots with refined appearances, to larger-weight cast bars in both metals that were aimed directly at investors interested purely in the metal content.

Examples of Ohio Precious Metals Bars

The lunar-themed silver bars from Ohio Precious Metals represents one of the last OPM-branded products to leave the refinery. With the spread of Chinese expatriates around the globe, and the rise of China’s economy, cultural icons of the Asian nation are at the forefront of precious metal design today. The Chinese Zodiac features 12 animals which are representative of a specific year in the 12-year cycle of the lunar calendar. Each animal is viewed as having unique characteristics and traits shared by the individuals born under the year of each creature.

Those born under the sign of the goat are said to be creative, honest, calm, and gentle. It is said that these individuals should pursue occupations befitting these traits, such as actor, teacher, musician, and creative editors. The Chinese Lunar Calendar runs from February to February.

On the obverse side of the 5 oz Silver Ohio Precious Metals Year of the Goat Bar is the image of a lone mountain goat as it stands amongst an artistic outcrop of mountains. Rather than natural artistry for the mountains in the background, the bar features modern, strict lines for the mountains. Engravings on this side include “2015,” “Year of the Goat,” and the bar’s weight, purity, and metal content.

The reverse side of the bar has simplistic design sets. Most of the bar is dominated by a repeating image of the OPM corporate logo, while the bottom-left corner of the bar features the corporate logo in a space with the engraving “OPM.”

NTR Metals is one of the largest participants in the precious metals industry. The company operates from 75 global locations, providing distribution and dealer services to roughly 30,000 other companies. It is involved in operations that include commercial refining for other companies and industrial recycling, refining, and precious metal product. Following months of work to formalize Elemetal Mint, OPM took on the brand name of Elemetal Mint for its production services as of July 2015.

The combination of these three companies resulted in the creation of a company that is now considered the largest private mint operating in the United States. Elemetal Mint produces a variety of silver rounds and investment-grade silver bullion bars, attracting investors and collectors alike to its product lineup.

Ohio Precious Metals from Silver.com

You have many payment options available to you to complete your purchase of remaining OPM products or new Elemetal Mint products on Silver.com. We proudly accept Visa and MasterCard credit/debit cards, paper checks, bank wire transfers, and PayPal transfers. Each form of payment comes with different benefits. Paper checks come with the benefit of high maximum purchase ceilings and a 4% discount on your purchase price, but take up to six business days to process.

Credit/debit cards, bank wire transfers, and PayPal transfers have lower maximum purchase, but each process faster than a paper check. Bank wire transfers and PayPal transfers often process immediately, with the former offering a 4% discount on your purchase price. Once your payment has cleared, your order is released to our fulfillment queue for shipping.

All Silver.com products are shipped via the United States Postal Service or UPS with discreet packaging used to protect the identity of your products. Silver.com offers an affordable, tiered shipping scale to ensure your products ship at a rate you can tolerate. All orders in excess of $3,000 include free standard shipping and insurance. If your orders are lost or stolen during shipping, Silver.com will work with the carrier to recover your shipment or file an insurance claim on your behalf to recover your funds.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a Silver.com associate. You can contact us on the phone at 888-989-7223, connect with us online through our website’s live chat feature, or submit your questions to us via email.